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Rejoice! New Set Photos Reveal that Game of Thrones Mercy Killed Tyrion’s Terrible Book Plot

The following post contains Game of Thrones book spoilers and speculation about the upcoming season.

Really, truly, you have been duly warned.

Great news! New set photos reveal that the Tyrion plot book-reading fans have been dreading may never come to pass. In fact, Tyrion is meeting up with Dany way sooner than expected. Win-win!

The way George R.R. Martin wrote it, Tyrion ships off from King’s Landing, isn’t seen for an entire book, and winds up getting tangled in a drawn-out plot with all-new players. Where does this story lead him? Dwarf jousting. Yeah, you heard me, dwarf jousting. As you’ll recall, dwarf jousting isn’t the most dignified activity.

And while there’s a certain dramatic poignancy to seeing the former Hand of the King fall so low, a season of angry, humiliated Tyrion would not only waste one of Peter Dinklage’s strongest assets (his humor), but also clash with the lighter tone for Tyrion the show tried to strike in last season’s finale. Light for a double murder, I mean.

Well, rejoice, from the looks of these new set photos (sorry, can’t embed them here!), Tyrion’s plot is getting drastically changed and accelerated. This is not only good news for Tyrion, but good news for the lady sitting near him. Yes that’s Tyrion, Dany, and Dany’s new husband, Hizdahr zo Loraq, presiding over the fighting pits of Mereen. Did I say “husband”? I surely did. Given Dany’s white dress we can assume the show is following the books here and the tournament is part of the wedding festivities. The new couple are joined by Missandei and Dany’s former lover Daario. Man, poor Daario.

In the books (once again, after a long side journey), Tyrion winds up in Dany’s fighting pits, not, as he’s seen here, by her side in a place of honor. Can we assume that in the show Jorah makes good on his thwarted book plan to capture Tyrion and bring him to Dany as a peace offering? We’ve already seen Jorah and Tyrion on set together. If that’s the case, why does Jorah end up in the fighting pits? Is this his last-ditch effort to get back in Khaleesi’s good graces? Man, poor Jorah.

It’s hard to say based on a few fuzzy snapshots, but here is what we do know. A lot of terrible, slow, boring elements of Tyrion’s plot has have been cut and everyone’s favorite Lannister will be a surprising factor in Dany’s plot going forward. The injection of his sharp-witted charm is justwhat Dany’s sluggish Mereen plot needs. Dragon’s can be exciting and all, but nothing beats the Imp.